Water & Blood
by Yami - The Devil's Advocate
Summary: Sometimes one death can change everything. Iruka's death sends Naruto on a downward spiral into darkness while the bonds of friendship begin to heal Sasuke's broken heart and Sakura learns what it means to really love someone and how important her friends are to her.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue – The End of the Beginning**

It was late into the night when Naruto stood up from his bed with determination. Gazing around his apartment one last time, his eyes landed on the picture frame that held the picture of Team 7. He walked over and picked it up, staring silently at the image within it for a few minutes. He remembered that day; they were up to their usual antics- mainly bickering between themselves as he and Sasuke glared their rivalry, with Kakashi playing peace-maker as Sakura beamed up at the camera. It was their normal. It was fun. It was something that Naruto had come to deeply value before one devastating argument had ripped it all away.

" _We're not friends! Friendship is a useless bond that will only hinder my goal. You mean_ nothing _to me…"_ With a wince, Naruto closed his mind to the memory, and let his eyes harden. Whatever nostalgia he had for the photo vanished, and he chucked it to the floor, not bothering to look where it landed.

He hefted his pack over his shoulder, and strode out, leaving the door unlocked. He no longer had any feelings towards the place that once housed him for 12 years- so he could care less if it got ransacked. He had a new home in mind.

If Sasuke wanted to throw their bond away for revenge, then Naruto could do the same for power.

 **XxX**

The moon shone down brightly, casting light shadows on the path leading out of the Village. Cicadas chirped, and leaves blew strongly in the wind as a single set of footsteps rang out, steadily approaching a single bench, where a silent figure sat waiting. It stood, and Naruto narrowed his eyes at seeing Sakura, noting the barely concealed sadness hidden away in her gaze.

"Sakura-chan? What are you doing here so late at night? It's dangerous, you know," he said casually, forcing a cheerful smile as she trotted up to meet him. He wanted to be done with conversation quickly- because while he knew that people will soon find out that he had left, he had hoped that he would be long gone by the time that happened.

"In order to leave this village, you have to take this road," Sakura began. And just like that, Naruto's smile dropped. It seems like he wouldn't be able to avoid the confrontation, after all. Sakura saw his sudden serious expression, and she wanted to be sick. It was true; he really was going to… "Naruto, please… don't do this. You don't need to go to Orichimaru," she begged. Her hands clenched. "Sasuke's an idiot." At her abrupt statement, Naruto startled. Sakura almost never insulted their other, dark-haired teammate. He was shocked into silence.

She continued. "I mean, he's always like that!" She gave a trembling laugh," So we don't need him. Who cares if he accepts us or not? As long as we have each other, we don't need anyone else." Sakura stepped towards him, and finally Naruto unfroze. He couldn't let her go on; he realized Sakura loved Sasuke, and while her words made feel a rush of warmth, he knew that they were untrue. She shouldn't have to force herself to lie. At least, not for him.

Besides…

"Sakura… this isn't just about Sasuke," he admitted quietly, "There are other things going on in my life that you just wouldn't understand. I'm-"

"The Nine-Tails host, I know." She interrupted, grabbing hold of his hand. For the second time that night, Naruto felt his eyes widen in blatant shock. Upon seeing the blonde-haired boy's confusion, Sakura smiled gently and explained: "Ino and I figured it out a short time ago. But Naruto… " She sobered, looking at him in desperation." You've got to know that this doesn't change anything, right? Even knowing about the Kyūbi, it doesn't make a difference with me. You're still Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's knuckle-head ninja, and that's what I love most about you!" She finished brightly, hoping he would take her speech to heart. His head was lowered, and his gaze shadowed, and she couldn't see his reaction.

So when Naruto interlocked their fingers and pulled her closer with a small smile, she thought nothing of it. Until his friendly expression morphed into a small frown, and he began to look troubled.

"What do you want from me, Sakura?" Naruto spoke, frustrated," Saying all this now… I've already confessed my love to you countless time, and you've never taken any notice of me, nor have you treated me any differently. In fact, at times it's like you've barely tolerated me. So what the hell do you want from me," he almost growled, his grip on Sakura's hand tightening painfully. She gritted her teeth, then faced him dead-on.

"I love you." She swallowed nervously at his sharp inhale. "And it's not the same as the love I thought I felt for Sasuke, either. It's real this time. It's true that at the beginning I never felt this way, but as I watched you and come to know you and understand you better, I really came to love you."

"You're funny, honest, kind and caring and you always put others before yourself. And you never hesitate to put yourself in harm's way if it means protecting something precious to you..." Sakura paused. As she confessed, Naruto's grip on her hand did not loosen, and grew ever tighter. She was beginning to lose all sensation in her fingers and knew that they would bruise. But she didn't stop. "I've realised it now; that I love all of that and more about you, and if you left, I-I don't know what I'd do. Because without you... there would be a hole in my heart that nothing could ever fill. Even with our friends and my parents, without you Naruto, I'd feel alone." With her feelings now out in the open, she waited anxiously for his reaction. She didn't have to wait long.

Barely two seconds passed before Naruto dropped her hands and pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in the crook of her neck and smiling when he felt her arms come up to hold him.

"Thank you, Sakura…" he said softly, pulling back slightly to caress her face.

"Naruto…" She beamed up at him, clearly thinking she'd gotten through to him as they gazed into each other's eyes. So it must have come as a shock to her when she felt his hand that had been wrapped around her hit the point between her neck and shoulder, causing her to lose consciousness.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said, catching her before she could hit the ground. He carried her bridal-style over to the single stone bench and laid her down gently, before shrugging off his backpack and removing his jacket to place it over her.

"I have to do this, Sakura. I can't stay here with people who lie to me, and treat me like I'm an inhuman monster; I have to find a place where I can just be me." He murmured, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear, and staring at her face for what may be the last time. "I love you too, but I have to do this… for me." With that, he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on her temple before picking his backpack up and continuing on his journey.

He never looked back.

 **XxX**

Morning came way too early in Sasuke's not-so-humble opinion. He'd been awake most of the night mulling over what Kakashi-Sensei had said to him the day before, and trying to figure out how to apologize to his teammates. All the things he'd said to Naruto and Sakura, he honestly didn't mean any of it. He cared about both of them deeply-he'd just been upset about seeing Itachi again after so many years. He had no right to take it out on them.

With a loud sigh Sasuke pushed his quilt covers off and sat up, stretching. He happened to glance over at the photo of team 7 that sat on his night stand and saw Sakura's smiling face, Naruto's glare-pout combo, Kakashi-Sensei's vaguely serene smile, and his usual scowl. He picked up the picture frame and ran his hand over the still figures in it.

' _What is wrong with me? Why do I keep trying to push everyone away… would it really be that bad to have people in my life who actually care about me? People, who I also care about and want to protect,_ ' he thought. Yeah, he really had to apologize. He wanted them to know his true feelings; that now he would never hesitate to call them his friends and how he would always put them first... He no longer wanted revenge. Kakashi made him see it just wasn't worth it; at least, not in the long run. True strength was overcoming his hate, not giving in to it. It wasn't weakness to value friendship and love, and now that he realised that, he wanted correct his horrible mistake and show Naruto he cared, after all. Just as Sasuke was giving himself an inner pep talk he heard someone knock on his door. Huffing to himself, he placed the picture frame back and got up to answer the door.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said grumpily, as he opened the door to see Shikamaru Nara standing on his porch, his eyes frosting slightly as they landed on Sasuke

" _Hello_ to you too," Shikamaru drawled sarcastically, "Get dressed. The Hokage wants you in her office now." Giving one of his usual sounds of distain, he headed back towards his room to quickly change. "I thought you were promoted to Chunnin, not messenger boy, Nara. Does the Hokage not have anything better for you to do then collect people for her?" Sasuke taunted, followed through his house by the other boy.

"Out of curiosity, do you have it in you to be nice to anyone for even a moment? I don't know how your team puts up with your attitude." Shikamaru bit back, his glare intensifying. Sasuke had no response. Shikamaru didn't know how close he hit home with that statement even if it just was what he'd been thinking before.

"Sorry... I'll be out in a minute. Just wait here." His scowl replaced with confusion, Shikamaru stood outside what he assumed was Sasuke's bedroom and waited for him to get dressed.

When the door opened, Sasuke stepped out and Shikamaru kicked off the wall where he'd been leaning. "So why dose the Hokage want me?" Sasuke asked, locking up his house

"Naruto." Was all Shikamaru said as he began making his way back out of the Uchiha compound.

Sasuke's gut twisted nervously as he caught up to Shikamaru and walked beside him _. It will be fine_ , he told himself, _Naruto's probably just been his usual self and caused trouble again._

That had to be all, right?

 **XxX**

As Sasuke walked into the Hokage's office just behind Shikamaru, the first thing he noticed aside from the small group of his classmates was Sakura standing off to the side sobbing into a familiar Orange jacket, "Sakura?" Sasuke called out quietly, running over to her.

She tensed at his voice, turning to face him. The grief-stricken expression shifted quickly to rage, and faster than the eye could follow, she punched Sasuke in the face, sending him impacting into the wall on the other side of the room. It instantly cracked, forming a Sasuke-shaped crater. The pink haired girl stalked over to him as he attempted to get up, and with one more right-cross, he was straight back down again. She threw herself on top of him, punching and slapping him as he disorientedly tried to block her attacks.

"It's your fault!" She screamed, her face twisted in anger. The others in the room simply gawked in shock, unable to uncomprehend what they were seeing. Sakura had never so much as looked at Sasuke with anything other than admiration- so to witness her strike him with such violence was a humbling experience to all. It was a grim reminder to never underestimate her, "It's all your fault Naruto's gone..!"

At the mention of Naruto's name, Shikamaru and Choji snapped of their daze, rushing over to break them apart, "Alright, come on Sakura, let him up… we don't have time for this if were gonna save Naruto" Choji lightly admonished, lifting the thrashing girl off Sasuke. Shikamaru immediately began to do what he could to heal the boy's face with his mediocre medical ninjutsu skills.

Once he could sit up on his own again Sasuke pushed away from Shikamaru and looked to Tsunade, "What happened to Naruto? Why does he need saving and what does it have to do with me?" Tsunade was looked contemplatively at the young Uchiha, thinking about how to word her answer.

With a loud sigh Tsunade began to explain the situation to the group gathered in her office, "Last night Naruto left the village; from what he said to Sakura before leaving we believe he's gone to Orochimaru." She looked around gravely, taking in the shock on everyone's faces. The Naruto they all knew would never just abandon their Village. The guy was always like a ball of sunshine; nothing anyone ever said or did could ever dim his resolve, or his smile.

"Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Neji and Sasuke! The five of you are assigned the task of bringing Naruto home! That is why I've had you gathered here today. Shikamaru will be leading this Mission- you have half an hour to gather anything you may need for this mission. Dismissed." Four of the six young ninja bowed respectfully to Tsunade before quickly heading out of the Hokage's office to prepare for their mission, leaving only Sasuke and Sakura alone with the Hokage.

Sasuke looked over to Sakura again, he wanted to say something… something to comfort her or give her hope the same way Naruto usually did when she was upset. He didn't like to admit it, even to himself, but he hated seeing his teammate distressed. "Sakura I-" Sasuke began, but cut himself off at the look of absolute loathing in Sakura's eyes.

"Sasuke. If you don't fix this and bring Naruto home to us... I'll never forgive you!" She said harshly, pushing past him to stride out the door.

 **XxX**

Half an hour later the mismatched team were standing just within the boundaries of the Village gate with Sakura and Lee waiting for Shikamaru to let them know when to leave, just when Kiba was getting ready to start yelling Shikamaru looked up at his team, "Right I'm not very good with words of motivation or anything like that so I'm just gonna say one thing… Naruto is my friend and he is a member of the Hidden Leaf Village, more than that he's our comrade. At one time or another Naruto has been there for everyone here, whether he was standing by your side in battle watching your back or he was fighting to make you see what's right, ether way he never gave up! It's time that we show him what that means to us, that he's important to us!"

Shikamaru then proceeded to explain his strategy to the group, though Sasuke's attention was split between listening and watching Sakura as she stood close by Lee, gazing at the small group with rapt attention.

"Right, time to go," Shikamaru commanded, heading through the gates with his team following behind. Sasuke made to follow, but paused for a moment, glancing back at Sakura with determination in his dark eyes "Sakura, please don't worry… I'm going to do everything in my power to bring Naruto home. So just have faith in me one last time, I'll bet my life on that promise!" He gave her a rare smile and a thumbs up.

Once Sasuke had caught up with the others Sakura let out the breath she's been holding in since Sasuke had said her name "Don't worry Sakura-chan! Sasuke-kun will definitely succeed! He promised it with a good guy pose, so he can't possible fail!" Lee said firmly.

"Yeah… Thanks Lee" Sakura whispered and gave Lee a sad smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One – Classroom Encounters**

 _-'The blood of the covenant runs thicker than the waters of the womb'._

Naruto sat in the hospital sitting area, picking red out of his fingernails as he waited for any news on Iruka Sensei's condition; the forehead protector he'd been given sitting uselessly beside him as he glared at the chips of blood flacking on the ground beneath him. The medics had been working on Iruka for hours and there was still no word. Naruto hoped that meant things were okay _. 'Iruka-Sensei had been talking before they took him to surgery, so that has to be a good sign… right?_ He thought optimistically, determined to think the best about the current situation. After all, his teacher had always been there for him. He wouldn't leave him now.

It was another hour later when the Third Hokage came to speak to him about the events for the night, inquiring about everything that happened with the scroll and Mizuki, Naruto monotony relayed all he could about the incident. He'd still yet to completely process the events himself… and he was sure he had gone into shock right after he realised he'd killed Mizuki. Just as the Third was about to ask Naruto if he wanted him to walk him home, a medic came out of O.R and started walking towards them , a sombre look upon his face. The young, newly made Ninja watched him approach with a sinking feeling slowly forming in his gut, knowing that such a grim expression couldn't be good.

"I'm so very sorry," he began, and Naruto's whole world just stopped. The boy stood still, unable to move as the horror of the medic's words imprinted themselves in his mind. "We did everything we could to save him, but the wound the patient sustained to his spine was too deep, and the damage irreversible. He'd lost too much blood before we could stabilise him...I'm so sorry, but Umino Iruka passed away a few moments ago…"

Naruto didn't hear anymore. Falling to the floor, he struggled for breathe and clutched at his former sensei's headband. _This can't be happening... he couldn't be dead!_ _There's no way… he was talking to me just before, it has to be a lie… Iruka-sensei!'_

As the blonde boys panic attack continued to escalate, he was completely oblivious to the people rushing around him and the Third's attempts to calm him down. Nobody could get through to him now, and nothing else mattered. Iruka-sensei was gone.

In the end, the medics wound up having to sedate Naruto to make him quiet down. He woke up the next morning in his apartment, his clothes still smelling of blood and death. Pushing his covers aside, he rushed to change, wanting to be as far away from the scent as possible. He couldn't stand it.

After showering and getting dressed into his spare jumpsuit, Naruto numbly picked up his old one and threw it into a trash bag. There was no point in cleaning it; the blood stains would never totally go away. Not to mention he wanted as few reminders of the previous night as possible. The memories were enough. Putting on his goggles and slipping the headband Iruka-sensei gave him into his pocket Naruto headed out of his apartment, throwing the bag with his old clothes into a nearby trash can. Time to go to the Academy.

 **XxX**

When Naruto reached the classroom, most of the students had already arrived. The only empty seats he spotted were next to Sasuke and Shikamaru, and since Ino and Choji always sat with Shikamaru, Naruto decided to just take the spot next to the emo. Better not cause a fight when he was in a bad mood.

Sasuke glanced up when he sensed someone next to him quietly, doing a slight double-take when he saw that it Naruto. It was quite odd- usually Naruto would barge into the room, making enough noise to draw everyone's attention to him. But before Sasuke could ponder the subject of Naruto's silence any further, Shikamaru leaned over his desk and tapped said boy on the shoulder.

"Hey Naruto, I thought you failed the graduation test... How'd you get that forehead protector?" He asked, pointing to the blue fabric peeking out of his pocket.

"You want the long version or the short?" Naruto replied curtly, turning to face the other Genin with an impassive glare. "I'll take the easy one" was all Shikamaru said, re-adjusting himself so that he was leaning more comfortably on his desk.

"Well, after the exam I stole a sacred forbidden scroll, learned a new Jutsu, killed Misuki-Sensei after he stabbed Iruka-Sensei and then Iruka-Sensei gave me his forehead protector and told me I graduated before he died," he explained casually, the words all tumbling out of his mouth faster than he could really think about what he was saying. He knew that he probably shouldn't be telling Shikamaru everything about the other night, but in that moment, he just didn't care.

The other boy just sat there for a moment, looking at Naruto like he'd grown a second head "Okay, I now want the long version..." He said intently, sitting up in his seat. Naruto just rolled his eyes and turned back to face the front of the room.

The rest of the morning went relatively normally once Sakura and Ino loudly barged into the room, bickering as usual. Before long, a Chunnin representative came to the class and split them into their three man squads. Unbeknown to Naruto, Sasuke had spent the whole time staring at him out of the corner of his eye, after overhearing his brief conversation with Shikamaru.

 **XXX**

Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura now made up Team 7.

The three Gennin all quietly and impatiently sat in the classroom, awaiting for their Jounin Sensei for over an hour after everyone else had already left with theirs. There were several loud huffs, and pointed looks towards the clock before Sakura finally spoke up.

"Were the hell is this guy? Shouldn't he have been here by now?" She complained loudly, giving an exasperated sigh, "Do you thing he maybe got the date wrong or something?" she added as an afterthought.

"I doubt an elite Jounin wouldn't be able to tell the date," Sasuke replied, casting his gaze away from the classroom door to look at the pink haired girl disdainfully. Misinterpreting his expression, she just looked back at him in adoration, secretly thrilled he was paying attention to her.

"Well apparently an 'Elite' Jounin can't tell the time, he's over an hour late!" Naruto moaned. He kicked his legs in frustration, then crossed his arms, scowling deeply. At the interruption, Sakura broke off gazing at Sasuke and glared at the blond boy, her detest for him written clearly in her eyes,

"What do you know, maybe something came up!" she said scathingly.

"If something came up and he couldn't make it, I'm sure that someone would have told us! Face it Sakura-chan- we got a dud teacher!" Naruto shot back.

They were so distracted by their argument they didn't notice the door to the classroom open, "Hmm, my first impression of you three is… You're all idiots." All three turned instantly to see a tall man with silver-white hair and his headband and a mask covering half his face. After introducing himself as Kakashi, their Jounin instructor, he ordered the three of them to follow him up to the academy building's roof top. It was time to see what their new team was truly like.

"Alright, why don't you all introduce yourselves and tell everyone a bit about you."

With those words, Sakura cast a quick glance at both of her new teammates before turning back to Kakashi. "What do you mean, introduce ourselves?" she asked awkwardly.

"You know likes, dislikes, hobby's, dreams for the future… things like that." He told them.

"Why don't you go first and show us how it's done." Naruto challenged, casting an almost bored look towards their teacher. Kakashi gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Hmm, alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes... Well, I don't really feel like telling you that. My hobby's… I have lots of hobbies. As for dreams for the future, I haven't really thought about it," he finished.

Sakura stared, a little dumbfounded for a moment.

"The only thing he really told us was his name. I'm beginning to agree with Naruto; maybe we got the dud," she whispered to her two teammates, not getting much more than a vague grunt from Sasuke and a slight incline of the head that could have been a nod from Naruto as response.

"Alright, you on the left. Go first," Kakashi allotted, nodding towards Sasuke.

"Tch... I'm Uchiha Sasuke. There aren't many thinks I like, and a lot of this I don't like. I don't really have any hobbies outside of training, and… I wouldn't call it a dream, more like an ambition, because I will make it a reality- I'm going to find out the truth about what happened to my clan five years ago, and then I'm going to kill a certain person." He said gravely, his already prominent glare darkening further as he spoke.

' _I expected as much from him,_ Kakashi mused, ' _poor kid's been through a lot, and he's not making his future any easier for himself'_. Next, he turned to look at the pink haired girl in front of him. "You next" he said, gesturing towards her vaguely.

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like… kyah! I mean, the person I like… My dream for the future… tehehe, things I don't like- Naruto!" Sakura giggled, blushing madly and sighing like an immature child.

' _Not really surprising. Girls her age are more interested in boys than ninja training. "_ And lastly, you on the right."

Naruto sat up a little straighter and looked Kakashi straight in the eye.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, and the ramen Iruka-sensei used to buy me at Ichiuraku. My hobbies are to try different types of ramen and compare them, but I really hate the three minutes you have to wait after pouring in the hot water. If you'd asked me what my dream for the future was a few days ago I would have said I wanted to become the next Hokage... so that people would stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm a nobody… but now… I'm not really sure- I just don't think the things I used to value are considered important to me anymore."

Kakashi, too, sat up a little and gave Naruto a thoughtful look. This wasn't the boy who used to pull pranks on the village for attention. He had changed, and most likely Iruka had caused it.

Iruka had been a good friend of Kakashi's, and he remembered him bringing up Naruto's antics on multiple occasions, so he knew the boy mattered to Iruka more then he liked to let on. But if you were as good as Kakashi at reading people, you could see it in his smile, hear it in his voice when he complained… and it seemed that Naruto had felt exactly the same about the recently deceased Shinobi. He was completely lost without him around anymore.

' _Heeh, I guess I have my work cut out for me with these three'_ "Right, now that we've all gotten to know each other a little, I'll let you know that we'll be having our first mission tomorrow." At this, the three Gennin all looked up at the Sensei with rapt attention, excited that their first real mission as ninja's was right around the corner.

"Meet me at training ground 7 at dawn. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, or you'll puke." With that final warning. Kakashi vanished into a cloud of smoke, leaving his three very confused students to decipher his cryptic warning.

 **Chapter one! Yay! Sorry it took longer than we'd hoped to get it done! Anyway, to those confused about the different time settings between the prologue and chapter one- the prologue was to give you all a test of what is to come later on.**

 **Also there is a small quote at the beginning of this chapter, I'm sure everyone's heard the phrase 'Blood is thicker than water' Well that quote at the top is the full quote, and it refers to the bonds forged through choice can hold a deeper meaning then mere biology** **, I felt the quote fit Naruto quite well, and it also fits the theme we want to set for the story.**

 **ALSO! This will not be a SasuSaku story, EVER! They will build a strong friendship later on but there will be no Romance between the two.** **A bit of budding NaruSaku after the land of waves and during the Chunnin exam but that's it.**

 **I wanted to make this clear from the beginning, I also wanted to make it clear that romance will not be a main part of the plot, it will have very little significants until p2 and even then it will not be a main focuses point.**

 **(the end of the whole 2- maybe 3 part story collection, Baba and I are working on has already been plotted and discussed to death, so pairings/deaths and everything else have already been decided- not all of us like what we've come up with- but we know what we are doing with this story and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.)**

 **Written by: Yami***

 **Edited/co-written by: BabaBeautiful**

 _ **Next Chapter: Pass or Fail – Kakashi's Test**_

 _ **(And a quick side note! HAPPY AUTHERS DAY EVERYONE!)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**C** **hapter Two**

 **Kakashi's Test – Pass or Fail**

It was well past dawn, the sun already shining down brightly on the three fidgeting Gennin. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had been waiting at the training ground for hours; they were tired, hungry and growing annoyed with their new teacher. They'd barely known Kakashi-sensei for a day, and the man had now twice been incredibly late to meet the young students.

"This had better not become a habit for him," Naruto grumbled, staring up at the clear blue sky in irritation. "His tardiness is getting on my nerves."

The other two begrudgingly agreed. How could someone be this late to a scheduled meeting? If he was like this when they actually had an appointed time, they dreaded to find out what would happen in a life and death situation.

Twenty more minutes later, Kakashi finally showed up, greeting them all as though he hadn't left them sitting around for four slow hours. "YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto both shouted in unison, whilst Sasuke glared heatedly.

"Sorry, I got lost on the path of life," Kakashi replied half-heartedly, not at all deterred in the face of their anger. As if that explained everything, he then pulled out a timer and two boxed lunches, placing them down on top of one of the wooden stumps the training field provided.

"Right, the timer is set for 12pm," He continued briskly. At his serious tone, the three stopped complaining and went quiet, putting aside their frustrations for now to listen in, "Here are two bells: your task is to take these from me before the timer goes off. Those who do not get a bell don't get lunch and if that happens, I'll not only tie you to one of these stumps, but eat right in front of you". They all looked back at him darkly, their stomachs grumbling as if in protest. He ignored it.

"You only need to get one bell, and as there are only two, one of you will definitely be tied to that stump. The person who doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the Academy. So… at least one of you will leave." Kakashi gazed at them indifferently, and with a pang, each of the students realised that he wasn't joking. To be sent back... nothing could be more shameful to a Ninja. With new determination, they all resolved to themselves that they not be the one who will be humiliated like that.

"And you're allowed to use your Kunai and Shuriken, as you won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill," Kakashi finished grimly.

At that, Sakura stepped forward. "But you'll be in danger, we could kill you-"

"That's the very point of this test," He interrupted impatiently, "It's not only for me to gauge your skill level, but to see whether you're ready for the world ahead of you." Sakura backed down, suitably chastened. He was right; everything was going to be different now, so she needed to prepare for it. Satisfied that Sakura understood, he addressed them all: "Do you have what it takes to really be Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village?! On my mark, come at me with everything you have!" Tensing, all three Gennin drew their weapons and took a fighting stance, waiting for their teacher to give them the signal to attack.

"Go!"

Sasuke and Sakura quickly vanished into the trees, hoping to find cover and to give themselves a chance to get ready for the fight ahead. Ignoring them, Naruto simply stayed where he was, his eyes narrowed slightly, watching for Kakashi's first move.

"Not going to run and hide like the others?" Kakashi asked, reaching into his pouch to grab at something. Naruto tightened his grasp on his Kunai, preparing himself for an attack. But to his surprise and aggravation, the only thing Kakashi pulled from the pouch was an orange covered book.

"Are you mocking me?" Naruto stared incredulously at the elder Shinobi, who now seemed absorbed in reading his novel. At getting a non-committal grunt, he gritted his teeth and focused on doing everything he could not to give into the rage he felt at the obvious mockery from Kakashi. This was absurd!

Hearing a slight growl coming from the direction of the blonde-haired boy, Kakashi glanced up. Seeing Naruto's fury, he felt a stab of pity. The boy obviously doesn't deal well with being ignored. Not that Kakashi blamed him, what with his past and all. Thinking it best not to get him riled up too soon, he finally responded.

"No, not intentionally. I simply want to finish my book; I'm getting rather curious as to how the story is going to develop... come at me whenever you're ready." Having said his piece, he went back to reading, but kept a cautious watch out to see what the blonde would do.

Scowling darkly, Naruto retrieved three shuriken from his pouch and threw them at Kakashi in quick succession before running at him and thrusting his Kunai towards his throat with his full strength. Only for his hand to be caught and his arm twisted behind him so that his blade was pointed to the base of his own skull. "Well, I already knew you had no problem with killing when provoked, but going straight for the kill and not even making an attempt at the bells, maybe I won't be able to read my book after all," Kakashi said dryly.

"Maybe you shouldn't provoke a demon if you don't want it to come at you with the intent to kill !" Naruto snapped back, growling as he twisted his hand out of Kakashi's grasp and turned to face him, glare still firmly in place.

"Is that how you see yourself Naruto? A demon?" Kakashi seemed slightly shocked.

"Everyone else seems to see me that way, so why shouldn't I play the part?" He stated bitterly, his eyes narrowing into slits as he jumped back to create some distance between himself and the Jounin, replacing his Kunai in its pouch to free up his hands. "I might as well give everyone another reason to fear me." And then Naruto, his expression a mix between resignation and resolve, put his hands together and created the sign for the Kage Bushin no Jutsu.

Ten Naruto's suddenly appeared, running at Kakashi who dispelled them just as quickly as they were created. For some reason, the teacher looked angry.

"You'd rather be the monster everyone thinks you are then try to be something different and proving them wrong? If that's what you truly think, than perhaps you really are a demon and Iruka was mistaken to give his life for you." Kakashi spat darkly, causing the real Naruto to freeze. He then used this opportunity to throw the boy into the lake that bordered on the edge of the training field.

It went quiet. Naruto didn't emerge from the water like Kakashi assumed he would. Perhaps he was finally retreating to formulate a better plan of attack. Whatever the reason, Kakashi simply picked his book back up and began his search for the next target while he read.

 **XXX**

Back in forest, Sasuke had been watching the entire encounter between Kakashi and Naruto. While he was less interested in the fight, he paid close attention to what the two of them were saying to one another, but it just left him feeling more confused than anything. What did Naruto mean by what he said?

Fixing his gaze on Kakashi's retreating figure, Sasuke sneakily followed him through the trees into a clearing, which also happened to be the place where Sakura was currently located. He settled into a new hiding place, waiting to see how the battle between Kakashi and Sakura will unfold.

Back in the clearing, Kakashi ran through a quick set of hand signs before retreating to the trees on the other side of where Sasuke crouched. The pink-haired girl never had the chance to realise she'd been found, because Kakashi's setup had already begun. The only warning Sakura had was the sound of shifting leaves just to the side of her, and out stepped _him_.

Sasuke.

She stuttered in disbelief, taking in the sight of his battered and bruised body and the grievously serious injuries and wounds that still seeped blood. "Sasuke," she breathed, her eyes wide.

The real Sasuke, still concealed, took in the sight of his double with a critical gaze; he could understand Sakura's shock-the copy of him _was_ pretty beaten up, and looked like it had been through one hell of a fight and lost. _'Genjutsu,'_ he thought to himself, _'_ that's _what those signs were for'._ Kakashi had cast a Genjutsu around Sakura. Now the question was: what was she going to do about it?

Disappointment struck the both of them when Sakura, unable to bare the sight of the Genjutsu, simply screamed and passed out

"Pathetic," Sasuke whispered to himself. He took to the trees, now determined to get the bells himself; it was time to lay his own trap for the so-far unbeatable sensei.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile Naruto had let himself float to the top of the water, spending a moment to stare up at the cloudless sky, thinking about what Kakashi had just said. Did he really want people to keep seeing him as a monster and a demon? He closed his eyes; he didn't know what he wanted people to think of him. But he did know that he didn't want Iruka-sensei's death to be in vain. Iruka believed in him, convinced even with his dying breath that Naruto could become a great Ninja, and he died for that belief…

With that thought, he dropped back beneath the water, forming a hand sign before dragging himself out of the lake and onto dry ground. His resolve hardened, Naruto dropped his hand into his pocket and grasped Iruka's forehead protector tightly as he headed into the trees after Kakashi. He'd get one of those bells! No matter what!

After walking for a bit, he spotted a clearing not too far ahead, where he quickly found Sakura, still lying unconscious on the ground. Concerned, he rushed over to her and checked her pulse, sighing in relief as he felt a strong heartbeat fluttering against his fingertips. She also appeared to be breathing, so once he was sure that she was in no immediate danger, he decided to continue on his search.

After a while, he finally found Kakashi on the outskirts of the forest. Naruto had gotten there just in time to view a secret wire being triggered, and a barrage of Kunai and Shuriken rain down upon the white-haired sensei, all of which making contact- or so Naruto thought. Barely a moment passed before Kakashi's supposed body poofed into a log.

Substitution.

The blonde-haired boy jumped back up into the tree, concealing himself as he watched Sasuke cautiously get down from his own tree, only for his feet to be caught by a hand protruding from the ground. Expression surprised, he was dragged into the earth, only his head now still visible.

"You almost got me there Sasuke," Kakashi said, crouching near the fuming boy's head. "But you'll have to do better than that crudely placed trap." Sasuke's frown immediately changes into a condescending smirk.

"I can."

Just as he said this, Sasuke's second trap sprung, wrapping several wires around Kakashi's ankles and tripping him up. Sasuke leered.

"The first trap was a decoy, as I knew you'd see through it." He explained, rather haughtily in Naruto's opinion. It made him sound even more stuck-up, despite the fact that he was still stuck in a hole. "For a moment, I thought you'd found the second one too, but when you'd said my trap was crude, I knew you hadn't spotted it. There is no way anyone could say it wasn't well put together."

"Very good, though it really is too bad you're still wedged in the earth or you'd have one of my bells by now. I guess I can't underestimate you either, eh Sasuke." Kakashi replied lightly, pulling out a Kunai to cut away the wires binding his legs. Up ahead, Naruto, sensing a perfect opportunity to finally get the upper hand, leapt out from the tree where he was hidden. Quickly forming the sign of the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, he made 20 other Naruto's appear, all rushing towards Kakashi before he could get out of the bindings.

They all attacked him, each aiming for a vital spot to put the white-haired sensei out of commission, knowing that they had to do it quickly otherwise the crafty teacher will escape and they'll lose the advantage. But it was too late, and with a resounding snap, the wires broke.

Kakashi instantly jumped out of the mess of flailing Naruto's, and still in the sky, formed the sign of the fire Jutsu Sasuke would recognize, and used it to dispel the clones. Once they were gone, only a single Naruto remained, glaring darkly up at him.

His hands blurred, and Kakashi, recognising that he was once again going to create more doubles, shook his head. "He never learns," he muttered to himself, before moving in and delivering a round-house kick to Naruto's chest. He blinked in surprise when, instead of staggering or blocking the move, the boy simply poofed into white smoke.

' _It was a bluff_ _'_ , was all he had time to think before he felt himself be grabbed from behind by several sopping wet Naruto's.

"You didn't think that I already figured out that I couldn't get you with just my clones?" One Naruto double said in distain, as his real body came into view, his face a mask of triumph. "I'll be taking one of those bells now, Sensei." He smirked.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was shocked by what he was seeing. The classmate that he had already judged and dismissed, the boy that he believed would be dead-last in all things had just one-upped the Jounin, when even he couldn't. Not without ending up stuck in the ground, at least.

Struggling harder to free himself from the dirt confining him, Sasuke was finally able to dislodge one of his arms and from there; it didn't take long for him to free the rest of his body.

After regaining his bearings, Sasuke dusted himself off and began searching around for Naruto and Kakashi, but they were nowhere in sight. It seemed that while he was distracted, he had missed the rest of their fight.

Just as he was about to start looking for them once again, curious to see what's happening and with the intent to prove himself that he was better and finally get the bells, the alarm signalling noon had arrived began to sound. Sighing with regret, Sasuke headed back to the wooden stumps to go meet everyone else.

XXX

Although both Naruto and Sasuke showed considerable skills in combat, Kakashi was disappointed. They both had lacked the ability cooperate as a team, and Sakura... he didn't want to think of how much of a let-down she was. He was beginning to think that whoever the person was who'd put together her report, was wrong to allow her to even graduate the academy.

After securely tying the pink-haired girl to the wooden stump, Kakashi tapped her cheek lightly and called out her name, trying to wake her.

"Wah! Sasuke-kun!" She shouted out the moment she regained consciousness. Blearily, she looked around, immediately seeing Kakashi's unimpressed face. "Huh? Kakashi-sensei?" was her dull follow up, still not fully with it.

"As you're efforts were utterly pathetic Sakura, you are the one now tied to the stump," Kakashi told her simply. That seemed to startle her awake, and she bowed her head in shame. "Sasuke and Naruto, the two of you showed great skills and rather exceeded my expectations." At this, the two boys began smirking to themselves which caused Kakashi to glare them down.

"But neither of you could grasp the true concept of the test... _**Teamwork!**_ "He shouted harshly, and they all blinked in shock. The thought of teaming up with each other had never even crossed their minds.

"Naruto, you had several chances you could have used to help Sasuke out of the ground. And Sasuke, had you wanted to, you could have assisted Naruto during his first assault. Had the two of you worked together, helped each other!" He shook his head, frustrated with all of them. "I don't doubt you may have actually gotten one of my bells."

None of the three could look up to their Sensei. He was right; the two bells were meant to be a distraction- they should have been able to see through it...

"If this had been a real mission, all of you would have gotten yourselves killed. I have half a mind to fail everyone." At this, the three began to shout in protest, but he quietened them with a glare.

"But, I've decided to give you a second chance, so don't waste it! After lunch, I'll give you two hours to get a bell off me." They brightened, already planning on various strategies they could use. However, all thoughts of combat stopped when Kakashi passed both boys a boxed lunch. Their stomachs growled hungrily, and Sakura looked at the lunches with longing. Kakashi noticed, and smirked to himself.

"Sakura failed the first part of the test, so she doesn't get lunch. Now, if I catch either of you feeding her, you will all automatically fail. This means that you won't be sent back to the academy, but rather you will be removed from the program all together! Understand?"

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all nodded obediently. Satisfied, Kakashi turned and walked off into the tree line, and out of sight.

The two buys slowly opened their box lunches and began eating, but it wasn't long before they heard a loud grumble coming from Sakura's stomach. They shifted uncomfortably, and Sasuke, with a pause, continued to eat. Naruto gazed down at his lunch for a second, before his eyes hardened with resolve.

"Here, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, lifting his chopsticks with some rice up to Sakura's lips, and offering her his food, "you need to eat too."

Shocked, Sasuke and Sakura both looked at him like he was mad. "But you heard Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura protested," he said I couldn't have any. You're going to get in trouble!" Just at that moment, her stomach growled again. She flushed.

With a sigh Sasuke scooped up some of his food as well, and held it out to her. "You won't be of much help later if you're hungry, Sakura," He reasoned." Besides, Kakashi isn't even here right now- so just be quick and _eat_! "And then, he shoved a piece of egg into her half open mouth.

Sakura quickly chewed the egg before begrudgingly accepting the rice Naruto had previously offered. The three of them continued like this for a few moments, when suddenly their teacher poofed back in front of them in a cloud of smoke, looking utterly furious.

"What did I tell you? Can none of you follow simple instructions!?" He shouted, glaring death at them.

"She's our team members, we couldn't let her starve!" Naruto shouted back at the Jounin. He stared up at him defiantly; not regretting his actions in the slightest.

"Please sensei, don't blame them! It was my fault, so don't punish them for helping me," Sakura pleaded, bowing her head in remorse. She felt guilty. She knew what would happen, yet she accepted the food regardless. Sakura could only hope that Kakashi would accept her apology. But, from the look upon his face, which hadn't changed, she knew that it was futile.

"You said we were a team, and had to act as such," Sasuke spoke up," Yet, what kind of team would we be if we didn't help each other? As a group, we will fight together and either pass or fail together!"

"A team are you? Well then... as a team you all... Pass!" Kakashi announced gleefully, ending his sentence with a smile. He enjoyed seeing they're surprised faces.

"WHA...!" The three of them all yelled out in unison.

"You passed," He continued gently, still smiling. "And you guys are the first. Every other team just did as I said- they were all just morons. A ninja must see what's underneath to be successful."

"Those in the ninja world who break the rules are called 'trash', but you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than the lowest form of scum! You all pass, and tomorrow Team 7 will begin its duty." Kakashi walked over, and cut the ropes holding Sakura to the post.

"That'll be all for today. I'll meet all of you bright and early tomorrow morning! See ya!" And with that, their new sensei poofed away once again, leaving them in shocked silence, to think over all of what he just said.

But mainly to celebrate the fact that from now, they were officially a Ninja Team.

 **Hey everyone! We are so sorry for how long this chapter took to get done... we've had so much on over the last few months that our writing had to take a bit of a back seat due to work and the holidays, but that should all be over for now and we should be able to get back to posting a new chapter every few weeks.**

 **So next chapter will begin the land of waves arc and begin to show the budding signs of our character development, we intend to keep it mostly cannon coherent up until the second phase of the chunnin exam. That will also be wear be begin to show the changes we're making to the other members of the rookie nine.**

 **We also have a Tumblr for this fic were you can go to ask questions and get updates on what's going on. We also post our one-shots there, so please pop over and let us know what you think ask-naruto-with-a-curse-mark we'd love to hear from you! ~**

 **co-written by the ever brilliant baba beautiful**

 **Chapter Three – A Real Mission at Last! – Naruto's Oath.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three – A Real Mission at Last- Naruto's Oath**

The Hokage's office was bright, a direct contrast to the mood that infused the room. Tension had seeped into the air, almost all of it coming off a blonde-haired boy, who was glaring darkly at a brown cat being held by Madame Shijimi, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire's wife. She was cooing over the feline, clutching it to her chest as it yowled desperately, clearly hating it the attention.

"Serves the stupid cat right," Naruto muttered under his breath. The other two children in the room glanced at him, but silently agreed. Catching that devil of an animal had been hell, and the scratches that littered their bodies spoke testament to that.

 _No wonder it ran away,_ Sakura thought to herself, the only one left that still had a spark of sympathy for the feline.

The Hokage cleared his throat. "Now then, the next mission for Kakashi's seventh squad is…" He paused for a moment, and the three held their breath, hoping for a better mission than the last one. "And errand to the neighbouring town to babysit the Chief Councillor's boy…." They all released a sigh of disappointment. The Hokage, either not noticing or ignoring them, went on.

"Helping to dig for Potatoes, eh…" He continued. Naruto felt anger building up. These missions were all basically worthless! They may as well just be doing chores. This was not what he had signed up for, and if the Hokage thought that Naruto would just stand around and put with these ridicules farces that posed as real Ninja missions, then he thought wrong.

"I won't do it," He spoke up, setting his glare to the old man, who had stopped reading. "I refuse to do any more kiddie-like chores. Assign us a real mission."

Everyone had turned to stare at the Naruto, Kakashi with exasperation at the boy's rudeness, but the other two gave reluctant nods, letting the Hokage know that they agreed. Even though they found fault in the way that he had addressed the issue, he did have a point. They didn't exactly want to continue like this…

"Listen here, Naruto…" Kakashi said, after giving the Hokage an apologetic look. "You're still a rookie, and that means that until you get enough experience from low-ranking missions, you're not qualified to take on the higher ones." The boy just scowled at him.

"They're not missions, they're slave work," He said darkly. Sick of his rudeness, Kakashi hit him over the head.

"Knock it off," he said sharply.

The Hokage, thinking it was about time that Naruto understood exactly how the rankings were organised and that it was not in fact "slave-work", started to explain. But Saratobi wasn't even two-thirds of the way through before Naruto interrupted.

"Look, old man, I get how it works- no need for the lecture. But I'm not the same as before, and we're more than ready for something else! These missions are just wasting our time," He argued. Kakashi, no longer thinking that just a look cut it any more, profusely apologized.

Honestly, that boy…

But the Hokage stopped, and considered the blonde-haired boy before him, who was now disputing his point with his sensei, glaring at him defiantly. It was true; Naruto was no longer the same 12-year old as he was mere months ago, the boisterous prankster had changed when Iruka had died, leaving something different behind. Maybe it _was_ time…

"Ok then," He announced," if you insist, I'll let you have C-rank mission!" Sakura and Sasuke gaped at him in shock, and even Kakashi's eye widened. Naruto, not realizing at first that he had won, continued to argue before doing a double take and falling silent. It lasted for a second or two.

"Oh." He said." Good."

Another pause.

"What's the mission?" He eventually asked. Saratobi smiled slightly.

"You'll be bodyguards to someone. I'll introduce him now." Raising his voice, the Hokage called for whomever this mysterious someone was to come in. They all turned to look at the exit, curios to see who it was.

' _I hope it's the Feudal Lord!'_ Sakura thought excitedly.

The wooden door opened slowly, revealing an old man in a peasant's garb. He took one look at the three children, one of which was gazing at him in disappointment and scoffed. "What's this? It's just a bunch a dammed midgets!"

He then gulped heavily at the bottle of alcohol he carried with him. They stared at him, except for Naruto, who started to scowl again.

The old man began leaning against side of the door." Seriously, are you sure they're going to be able to protect me? Especially that one with the emo-looking face."

Everyone then turned to look at Sasuke. He noticed.

"What?" He asked, confused.

Old man shook his head. "No, I meant the other one."

They all glanced at back at Naruto, who was indeed the one sporting the emo-like expression. Realizing this, he flushed angrily. "Why you-"

The Hokage quickly interrupted," This is Tazuna, the man you'll be guarding. And yes, there should be no problems with your protection." He gave them all a stern look, and after a quick glaring contest, Naruto backed down.

Tazuna took a deep breath, and finally turned to address them seriously." As your Hokage mentioned, I'm Tazuna- a veteran bridge builder. You'll be risking life and limb in guarding me to the max, until I return to my land and complete my bridge".

 _Well, it could be worse_ , Sasuke thought. And then, as if to dispel any last trace of the previous moment, the old man took another large gulp of the bottle.

 _I spoke too soon…_

The gates of the Village of Hidden Leaves loomed ahead much larger up close then they ever seemed before. Almost always open, yet the world beyond them had always remained a mystery until now. The five of them approached the gate, but only the pink-haired girl had shown her excitement, a happy grin lighting her face as she daydreamed about all bonding moments she could have with Sasuke… ' _Maybe the outside could get him to open up a little'_ , she mused. The other two didn't seem so enthused. Naruto was blank-faced, showing no reaction at all towards their newfound freedom. While, trailing behind, Sasuke was staring intently at the old man. Tazuna was obviously a drunk and acted just like any other peasant… yet, from closer inspection, he seemed to be a little suspicious... as if he had something to hide. Sasuke continued to stare trying to figure out what it was. But no matter how long he looked, nothing else was revealed. Obviously he would have to keep a closer eye on the old man if he were to learn anything else.

They were just about to leave; Kakashi making sure that everything was set for their team to exit the village for the first time.

"Alright," He said finally, "Everything is ready, and we're almost good to go. However, there's just one last thing before we head off." Kakashi then turned to look at Naruto sternly, noticing the absence of a key item, something that was very important. "Naruto, put on your forehead protector- you can't leave the village without it."

Naruto just glared daggers at Kakashi, as he did almost every time the two had to interact with each other. "Why? It's not like I need it to complete our mission… it's just a band of fabric with a metal plate on it." He replied harshly, fighting the urge to glance at the blue Hai-ate he hid in his pocket. "What will it actually protect me from…?"

Kakashi managed to look incredulous, as much as a guy in a mask was able to. "Naruto, that's not the point" He said, frustrated. "It's a symbol that you're a Ninja of the Hidden Leaf. Now put it on so we can leave! Mr Tazuna has a schedule he'd like us to keep." With a final glower and a loud sigh, Naruto took his forehead protector out of his pocket and tied it around his neck, opening the front of his jacket slightly so that it could sit comfortably and still be seen clearly.

By Kakashi's sharp look, Naruto could tell that he wasn't impressed with him- he knew he was supposed to wear it around his forehead like both of his teammates, but he didn't care. Plenty of others had worn them in a variety of different ways, so why couldn't he?

"There, it's on. Can we go now?" he asked in a clipped tone. Kakashi let out a long sigh before nodding and stepping out in front of the group. He led the way through the gate, and finally, they were on their way.

At first, they mostly walked in silence. But after a while Sakura who, once the initial excitement of leaving had passed, had quickly grown bored of seeing just trees and shrubbery ahead and started asking Tazuna and Kakashi questions about the Wave Country, and if there was any Ninja's there.

Kakashi clarified that there was no need for an island like the Land of Waves to have a Shinobi Village, since it was small and the location rather difficult for the other Nations to influence. He then went on to explain about other Nations, the Shinobi Villages, and the Kage's as well.

"Heh," Sakura exclaimed," No kidding! So the Hokage is that incredible!" But inwardly, she wondered if the old man could be half as amazing as her sensei made him out to be.

Kakashi glanced at her. "You just doubted the Hokage, didn't you?"

Surprised, she frantically shook her head. ' _Can't believe I'm that transparent'_ she thought, embarrassed. Kakashi let it go, simply patting her on the head. "Well, don't worry." He reassured, smiling." There are no Ninja battles in C-rank missions."

Sakura let out a relieved breath. "Then there really is no worry about getting into a battle with foreign ninja's," She said, happy. She must admit she was more worried about that than she thought, ever since hearing about the mission in the Hokage's office. She wasn't a coward by any means, but now that Kakashi-sensei had said that it wouldn't happen, she felt that she could finally relax.

Unbeknownst to them, Sasuke, who was closely observing Tazuna, saw the old man's stance change the moment Sakura had asked if there were any foreign Ninja. He appeared tense, and sweat was starting to form on his face.

So that was why, when Sakura was sighing in relief, he glanced back, and saw the expression on Tazuna's face. He looked almost… Guilty.

Time passed, and the sun slowly rose overhead, blazing down brightly upon them. It was quiet again, the only noise being the occasional rustle of an animal passing by in the forest, and birdsong.

They kept up a steady pace; the three genin's lost in their own thoughts as they walked by a large puddle of water, seemingly without noticing it. Only Kakashi glanced at it, but he looked away just as quickly, and they passed it in silence. Not seeing the head that merged out of the water, glaring at their retreating backs.

In seconds, the puny puddle had turned into two completely foreign Ninjas, their headbands proclaiming them to be from the Village Hidden in the Mist. In an explosion of movement, they struck leaping in the air towards the group, a gleaming chain of shuriken trailing behind them.

Upon hearing the noise, Kakashi glanced up, but it was too late to do anything as the chains quickly wrapped securely around his body, ensnaring him. He exclaimed in shock, his reaction mirrored by that of his students.

They could only gaze in terror, as with a shout of "the first one!" the two Ninja's simultaneously and cruelly yanked on the chains, the force of their harsh pull tearing their sensei's body apart in a moment.

The sound of Kakashi's remains hitting the ground seemingly unfroze Sakura. She screamed out in horror and stumbled back, her arms instinctively thrown out in front of her in defence as the two Ninja turned their attention on the now panic-stricken group.

But they didn't attack Sakura, and instead appeared behind Naruto, the boy trembling in fear as he realized what was just about to happen.

In a haze, he distantly heard one of them say smugly "the second one," and he flinched, slowly turning to face them, even as inside, he yelled at himself to move- because he had to do prevent this, had to _something_ before they killed him, but it was like his legs were stuck in quicksand and he couldn't move, couldn't _escape_ -

And the chains were already heading toward him, and it was probably too late now, the ninja's faces starting to show a trace of triumph-

Only for it to turn into surprise when a Shuriken came out of nowhere, catching the chain just as it was about to reach Naruto, and lodging it deeply into the bark of a nearby tree. A Kunai quickly followed it, and it pierced through the hole of the Shuriken in an expert display of skill and accuracy, leaving the two Ninja's stuck.

They went to run forward, but stopped when their weapons didn't even budge. "It won't come off, "one of them growled in annoyance.

Naruto could only watch in stunned silence as Sasuke- who had jumped into action the moment he saw the danger- landed gracefully on their outstretched, weaponized arms in a perfect crouch. Smirking, he grasped their forearms and kicked out, sending them flying.

 _W-wow,_ Naruto thought, gazing at his Teammate's actions numbly. It was impressive, but for some reason, it bothered him. _Why… Would Saskuke do that_? It didn't make sense to him just as the reason why Iruka-sensei died for him didn't make sense.

Once they realised they wouldn't be able to release their chain from the tree one of the detached it from his claw like gauntlet and made for Sakura and Tazuna, Sakura held her stance in front of the old man- even though she knew there was nothing she could do to stop the oncoming attack. Seeing her predicament, Sasuke quickly got between her and their assailant.

Right before they were about to engage, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere, taking down both of their attackers quicker then the young Genin's eyes could follow.

After the relief of seeing that their teacher was okay had worn off, they quickly realised that Kakashi had obviously used a Substitution Jutsu to avoid the chains.

"Naruto, I'm sorry I didn't save you immediately. I got you injured. But I didn't think you'd freeze up like that. Anyway, good job Sasuke, Sakura too." Kakashi said, nodding at both of them to acknowledge their efforts. Sakura beamed, pleased that she got praised.

Meanwhile, Naruto had to fight down his shame. Swallowing, he glanced over at Sasuke. _He looks as if nothing happened. He doesn't even have a speck of dust on him… Yet it was his first real battle. Was he not scared at all? He even saved me…'_ Naruto thought bitterly.

"Hey!" Sasuke called out, getting his attention immediately, "You alright, Scardy-cat?" he taunted with a smirk.

Naruto's eyes darkened dangerously, and he clenched his fists, struggling with the urge not to start a fight. But before he could lose his control, Kakashi spoke up.

"Naruto, save it for later". The boy bristled, but he took no heed of it." Their claws are soaked in poison, and we have to remove it quickly." At his words, Naruto finally noticed the cut along his hand, where their attacker must have grazed when he headed for Sakura and the old man.

"Open the wound and release the poisoned blood from your body," Kakashi instructed. "And don't move around too much, or the poison will spread." Satisfied that Naruto now understood his situation and how to take care of it, he began dragging the unconscious bodies of the two ninja's over to a nearby tree and began trying them up.

"Oh, and Tazuna-san" Kakashi said, looking over his shoulder as he addressed their client.

"What is it?" The old man replied nervously.

"I need to talk to you." At the serious tone in his voice, Tazuna gulped.

Kakashi continued. "These are Hidden Mist Chuunin, and once engaged in battle, they are known to never give up, not matter what." As he was saying this, one of them woke up. He glared heatedly at his captor. The white-haired man just looked back at him evenly, not phased in the slightest.

"How did you read our movements?" The ninja asked, wanting to where they failed.

"On a sunny afternoon like this where there hasn't been rain in days, there's not going to be a puddle." Kakashi said simply.

"If you knew that, then why did you let the brats fight?" Tazuna asked, appalled but slightly curious to know the answer nonetheless.

Kakashi looked at Tazuna from the corner of his eye, his entire demeanour changing instantly, "If I had wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but… there was something I needed to find out- who these two were after."

"What do you mean?" Tazuna said; still trying to play the confused bystander- not that Kakashi was buying his act anymore.

"Meaning… were they after you or one of us? "He looked at the old man intently, and he immediately glanced away. "Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves or gangs. We haven't heard that there are Shinobi after you. This was supposed to be simple protection until you completed the bridge, but now this has now become a B-Rank Mission."

"If it was known that Ninja were after you this mission would have been set as the more expensive B-Rank and I'm sure you had your reasons, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission. We are now operating outside of our duties." He finished.

"We aren't ready for this mission, lets quit! I mean; we'll need medicine for Naruto's wound. We should go back to the village and take him to a doctor." Sakura added in.

' _Hmm… She's right. This might be too much…'_ Kakashi thought, giving Naruto a quick once over.

"I guess we should return to the village to treat Naruto" He decided, but the words had barely left his mouth before Naruto whipped out an Kunai and viciously dug it into the wound on his hand. _'Why is there so much of a difference?_ He thought, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. _Why am I always… Damn it!_

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura shouted out in surprise as she watched Naruto stab himself in the hand.

Naruto paid her no attention, still trying to figure out what went wrong- why he froze up so completely. _'I should become stronger… I've completed lots of missions and even practiced my Jutsu everyday by myself everyday, so this shouldn't have happened!_

But then his eyes hardened. _Never again,_ He vowed, _I'm never going to need saving ever again! I'm not going to be afraid or try and run… And I won't lose to Sasuke! I swear it on this pain in my left hand!_

"We will protect this old man! We're continuing the mission!" Naruto said resolutely, leaving no room for any of the others to object.

So once his wound was properly cleaned and bandaged by a exasperated Kakashi, the group continued their journey with only minor complaint from Sakura, who wanted to make it perfectly clear she did not agree with them and would not be held accountable with the rest of them if anything goes wrong- well, if they should all survive, that is.

 **Oh my god this chapter has been a mission and a half to finish!**

 **So I'd like to start by saying a big giant thank you to my wonderful Co. why did most of the work on this chapter, with only a few words from me about the Dialog or setting! ~ Honestly this chapter would not exist without her amazing hard work! And her brilliant editing skills.**

 **Second, I know I mentioned on Tumbler that this chapter would be longer and also introduce Zabuza to the story, but we decided that this was a good place to end the chapter, not only for our own story-boarding reasons but we've made you all wait so long for it we decided to get it out as soon as we possibly could.**

 **Have no fear though! Next chapter Zabuza will join the party and there will be much angst with Naruto and we will get to see more of his dark side!**

 **Now I will want to put a few things to a vote, we intend to make this arc around 3-5 chapters, what we want to know is would you guy's like to see more development of their characters now, or would you prefer we stick to building up the story and save most of the major character development for the Chunnin Exam? Leave your answer in the comments!**

 **Oh and if you are not already, please follow us on Tumbler ask-naruto-with-a-curse-mark for regular updates, side story's and any questions you may have about the story. We also post story art their!~**

 **Regards Yami-Sama & Krystal-Chan**


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